Arsenal’s long-running pursuit of Bruno Guimarães appears to be moving towards a decisive conclusion amid Eddie Howe’s resignation from Newcastle.

The Brazilian has been admired at the Emirates for years, including before he completed his move from Lyon to Newcastle in January 2022.

Arsenal reportedly held discussions over Guimarães during that period, but the midfielder eventually chose Newcastle, who paid an initial £33.3million with a further £6.5million in add-ons.

His decision proved to be one of the most important made during the early stages of Newcastle’s new ownership.

Guimaraes quickly became the heartbeat of Howe’s team, helping drag the club away from relegation trouble before playing a central role in their rise into the Champions League and their Carabao Cup success.

He was later appointed captain and continued to carry a major creative and goalscoring burden during a difficult 25/26 campaign.

The 28-year-old finished the season with nine Premier League goals and eight assists, earning Newcastle’s official Player of the Year award.

Guimarães has bagged 30 goals and 25 assists across 153 Premier League appearances, while Newcastle’s results without him have been dramatically worse since his arrival.

Before his injury earlier this year, the Magpies had failed to win any of the 10 league matches he had missed since joining, taking only five points from those games.

That influence explains why Newcastle have spent much of the summer resisting Arsenal’s advances.

The Gunners first explored the conditions of a transfer through intermediaries, rather than making direct contact with Newcastle.

An informal proposal was rejected, with the Magpies maintaining that their captain was not for sale.

However, the situation started to change when the player made his own intentions clear.

Sky Sports reported earlier this month that Guimaraes had spoken directly to Newcastle and explained that he wanted the opportunity to join Arsenal if an acceptable offer arrived.

His position was said to be based on sporting ambition rather than money.

After Newcastle finished 12th last season, Guimaraes reportedly felt Arsenal offered him a stronger chance of competing for the biggest domestic and European prizes during the prime years of his career.

He has not submitted a formal transfer request and is not believed to be willing to force his way out. Instead, he wants Newcastle to receive a significant fee after more than four successful years at St James’ Park.

That respectful approach has allowed negotiations to continue without the relationship between the captain and supporters completely breaking down.

Guimarães can operate as a deep midfielder, but he is equally comfortable stepping forward as an energetic number eight.

His ability to create chances and arrive near the penalty area would give Mikel Arteta another complete midfield option alongside Declan Rice.

Now, a major new development has come from reliable Arsenal insider HandofArsenal on X.

Arsenal to give Newcastle £80m for Bruno Guimarães with contract agreed

According to the account’s well-placed sources, Arsenal are preparing to present Newcastle with a total package worth around £80 million, and personal terms are also claimed to have been agreed with Guimarães.

HandofArsenal added that Howe had been informed several weeks ago that Newcastle were considering selling their talisman.

That detail has become particularly significant following Howe’s decision to resign after almost five years in charge.

The former Bournemouth manager had built his midfield around Guimaraes and repeatedly expressed his desire to retain him.

With Howe now gone and Matthias Jaissle expected to begin a new era at Newcastle, the club may be more willing to sanction a major squad change.

An £80m package would also match the level talkSPORT previously suggested could make Newcastle seriously consider doing business.

Nothing is complete yet, and Newcastle must still formally accept Arsenal’s proposal.

However, Guimarães wants the move, personal terms are reportedly settled and the manager who fought hardest to keep him has now left.

After weeks of careful groundwork, Arsenal finally appear to be closing in on the midfielder they have pursued for so long.